Amytal “Truth Serum” to Play a Key Role in the Unveiling of Secrets in “It’s Okay It’s Love”

Recently, the spotlight has been placed on the drug “Amytal” since its introduction in SBS drama “It’s Okay It’s Love.” The drama not only depicts the romance between celebrity author Jang Jae Yeol (Jo In Sung) and clinical psychologist Ji Hae Soo (Gong Hyo Jin), but it also shows the different episodes that fellow psychologist and housemate Jo Dong Min (Sung Dong Il) and Hae Soo’s experience with their patients.

In the drama, “amytal sodium” is first introduced in the process of Dong Min’s treatment of Jang Jae Bum (Yang Ik Joon), who is Jae Yeol’s older brother as well as a murder convict. Jae Bum’s first reaction to hearing about this drug is to use it on his mother (Cha Hwa Yeon) and his brother to reveal that they had indeed conspired in order to get rid of him by framing him for his stepfather’s murder.

In the captions describing this drug, the drama team defined “amytal sodium” as a barbiturate derivative that has sedative properties, and an “amytal interview” as a “procedure in which the patient is interviewed while amytal is gradually given intravenously, placing the patient into a state of relaxation and hypnosis.”

Amytal was first introduced in the 1920s in an OBGYN hospital in the US as a “truth serum.” Later it was used in courts in order to prove the innocence of indicted suspects. After World War II it was also used to treat soldiers who were experiencing psychological trauma.

In “It’s Okay It’s Love,” amytal is gradually gaining a deeper presence in the story. Consequently, viewers raided portal sites with the search for “amytal” and what it does. There are even blog posts explaining the effects of amytal and relating it to the story.

The production team revealed, “We are introducing amytal as an important factor into the story, where the characters are a psychologist and a character that needs psychological help. Please stay tuned to see how this drug acts as a key to the revelation of the characters’ secrets.”

Meanwhile, in the eleventh episode set to air August 27, there was the introduction of a third party aside from Jae Yeol and Jae Bum that was involved in the murder of their stepfather.

Anyone plan on tuning in? Did anyone actually research amytal on their own as well?